Chapter 3

"Are you okay?"

My heart started beating faster. I felt even weaker because of the person holding me. Rodrigo Navarro. How did he end up here? Does he want to make sure they killed James? I quickly stood up and gently pushed him.

"Yes, thank you," I replied curtly. I was about to leave, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. I widened my eyes as I looked at him.

"What is your name?" he asked.

I furrowed my brow and tried to pull my hand away, but he held it tightly and just smiled at me. I have to admit, Rodrigo Navarro is good-looking. If I didn't know anything about James, I might have been one of those girls who would admire him. But it's not the smile of a handsome man that I see now. It's the smile of a demon.

"Jane!"

I glanced at Rodrigo's back. His grip on me loosened, so I quickly moved away from him.

"Jane. So, that is your name," he grinned even wider.

I wanted to ask him why he wanted to know my name. I didn't want to think that he saw me last night, so maybe he's interested in me now. But what if that's the reason? My eyes widened again. I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it because I didn't know what to say. I avoided his gaze and quickly walked towards Lana.

"What were you doing there?" Lana immediately asked. She grabbed my arm. "Why do you look pale? What did that man do to you?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nothing. I just bumped into him." I subtly glanced back at Rodrigo and saw that he was staring at us. At me. So, I quickly looked away.

"Isn't that Governor?" Carlo asked.

"Yes," Lawrence replied. "What's happening there?" Lawrence was about to walk towards the people, but I immediately held his hand.

"What's wrong? There's a dead body," I said.

"Huh?" he said in surprise.

But because of what I said, he seemed more interested. I let out a sigh of relief when both he and Carlo went there to take a peek.

"Are you really okay?" Lana asked again. "You've been like this since last night."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I forced a smile at Lana. I could see the concern in her eyes. She also looked at Rodrigo, as if blaming him. I panicked, so I held her arm as well. "I'm really okay. It's better if we go ahead to the store."

Fortunately, Lana agreed. We went to the store ahead. Away from that chaos. Away from Rodrigo Navarro. I don't know why even though I'm far away from him, I still feel his gaze. It's as if he's right there, nearby, watching me. There's something strange about his gaze.

Since I saw James' dead body, it hasn't left my mind. I spent the whole night thinking about what I should do. Should I just let it go and ignore what I found out? But what about James? He died just like that. I'm sure everyone will think he's just a drug addict because of the poster on his body. Even his family won't know the truth about what happened to him.

I pondered over it all night. I could hardly sleep because of it. So, the next day, before Lana even woke up, I beat her to it. She was still asleep when I left and went to the barangay where James mentioned in his note. It was already noon by the time I reached there because we had to pass through five barangays. It wasn't under Rodrigo's jurisdiction anymore. He made sure he was far away from here.

I had no trouble finding the apartment he mentioned. It was a compound, and it was the only one in the area.

"Does James Marasigan live here?" I asked the landlady of the compound.

"James? No one named James lives here, dear."

I furrowed my brow. I checked my cellphone again to confirm the location. I was in the right place.

"What room number?" the woman asked again.

"Room twenty."

"Oh, with Pedro? Are you the one picking up his belongings?"

I was taken aback. She mentioned a different name. I couldn't help but think that James knew what would happen. That he planned everything. I just nodded and asked for her help to retrieve the items.

"Here. Pedro hasn't come back for months. He stayed in this room for just a day and then left immediately. He said someone would come here to pick up his things. He said to give them to anyone. Sometimes I even thought of renting it out. But he paid two years' worth of rent, so it would be embarrassing. We also have a contract," she explained while opening the door. "And he said, if no one came after two years, I could do whatever I wanted with the room. So, I just left it for now."

I remained quiet as I listened to her. I felt even more sorry for James. Maybe while he was preparing everything, he already thought he would die. Unbelievable! Those people were heartless for doing this to him!

Dust greeted me as I entered the room. The landlady handed me the key and left. I closed the door and turned on the lights. The room was almost empty. Just a small bed and a cabinet. That was it. James clearly didn't live here. I approached the cabinet and immediately opened it. I had nothing else to look at except for that. When I looked inside, I saw two bags and a laptop in one of the drawers. The charger was there too. I opened the bag underneath first.

I hunched down to reach it. My eyes widened when I saw the stack of money. In the other bag, there were gold items. My hands trembled as I touched them.

"It's true," I muttered.

So, they killed James because of this. It must be a huge amount of money. I closed the bag and stood up. I wiped my face and paced around the room. What should I do with this money? Should I return it to the Navarro family? But James told me not to let it fall into their hands. But what should I do?

I let out a sigh and sat on the bed. I stared at the floor for a moment while I thought about my next move. If I take the money, where would I hide it? I'm sure it would just become a motive for my own downfall.

I'm not stupid enough not to realize that the Navarros are still looking for it.

I glanced at the cabinet again. My attention immediately went to the laptop there. I stood up and took it. I needed to charge it because it was almost out of battery. There wasn't much on that laptop either. There was only one folder, so I opened it. And there, I became even more disgusted by what I saw and learned.

There's only one thing I can say. The Navarro family is heartless!